Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2007-08: In his rookie season in the OHL, Jordan Szwarz netted 12 goals and added 21 assists in 65 games for the Saginaw Spirit. He added 56 penalty minutes while compiling a +11 statistic for the season. Szwarz failed to pick up a point in 4 playoff games.

2008-09: In 67 games for the Saginaw Spirit, Szwarz improved on his totals from the previous season. He scored 17 goals while adding 34 assists for the Spirit, to go along with his 76 penalty minutes. Szwarz was a +17 for the season. He added another goal and five assists in eight postseason games.

2009-10: In Szwarz third season with the Saginaw Spirit he posted 26 goals and 28 assists in 65 games. He also appeared in 6 playoff games, scoring once and adding 2 assists. Szwarz also made his pro debut with the San Antonio Rampage(AHL), appearing in 1 game with the Phoenix Coyotes’(NHL) farm club.

2010-11: Szwarz was the second-leading scorer for Sagniaw in his fourth OHL season with the Spirit. He scored 27 goals with 39 assists and had a team-best +33 plus/minus. Szwarz was one of the more physical players for the Spirit; accumulating 90 PMs. Saginaw finished first in the West Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Szwarz maintained his point-per-game scoring pace in the playoffs, finishing with 4 goals and 9 assists in 12 games and was -3 with 8 PMs.

2011-12: Signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by Phoenix in June 2011, Szwarz made the jump from juniors to pro hockey as a 20-year-old. Hampered by the effects of a nagging shoulder injury suffered in rookie camp for much of the year, he skated in 58 games for Phoenix’s AHL affiliate in Portland. Szwarz scored 7 goals with 13 assists and was plus-six with 28 penalty minutes; showing both steady improvement and the inconsistency typical of a first-year AHL player. Pointless in his first seven games, he had points in three straight games in early November. He also had 5 points in five games in January after going nearly two months (12 games) without a point. Portland finished third in the Atlantic Division; missing the playoffs by two points.

2012-13: Szwarz skated for the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate in Portland in his second pro season. He appeared in 60 games, suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in April, and scored 11 goals with 22 assists; finishing +7 with 31 penalty minutes. The Pirates finished second in the Atlantic Division and were swept by Eastern Conference champion Syracuse in the first round.

2013-14: Szwarz began 2013-14 by being named captain of the Portland Pirates coming out of training camp. This seemed to indicate that Szwarz would be a fixture in Portland for the Coyotes AHL affiliate throughout the season. However, he was called up to the Coyotes in October and wound up playing 26 games for the NHL club in a fourth line role.

Talent Analysis

A gritty winger with a nose for offense, Szwarz is an intelligent player whose work ethic on and
off the ice has allowed him to make constant improvements in all areas of the game. In Portland,
he was valued for his leadership, serving as both Captain and Alternate Captain during his
tenure.

Future

Szwarz’s combination of leadership, work ethic and tenazcity appear to be highly valued by
Arizona management. In 2014-15 he should be able to nail down a bottom-6 role in the NHL
throughout the season.

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Photo: Arizona Coyotes top prospect Max Domi will be tasked with helping the franchise rebound next season. (courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

Beside the play of top-line defensemen Keith Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, it has been a relatively forgettable year for the Arizona Coyotes. The team is firmly out of a playoff position and well off-pace to match last season’s total of 89 points, which landed them ninth in the Western Conference. Arizona’s AHL team, the Portland Pirates, is middle-of-the-pack but holding on to a playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

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A year removed from finishing last in the AHL with just 61 points, the Portland Pirates, primary affiliate for the Arizona Coyotes, have shown respectable improvements this season. Through 35 games, the Pirates are 19-15-1, scoring 87 goals and allowing 82, having won their last four games.

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Photo: Louis Domingue used an impressive 2013-14 season to solidify himself as the starter for the AHL’s Portland Pirates in 2014-15. (courtesy of John Cordes/Icon Sportswire)

The Arizona Coyotes have actively addressed the composition of their prospect pool since the 2013-14 trade deadline. A year ago, there was a logjam of talented defensemen throughout their pipeline. At the deadline, general manager Dave Maloney traded David Rundblad to the Chicago Blackhawks. At the 2014 NHL Draft, the Coyotes grabbed seven forwards while only selecting two defensemen, both in the late rounds.

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Brandon Gormley appeared in only five games for Arizona in 2013-14 but is expected to be a fixture on the Coyotes’ blueline in 2014-15. (courtesy of Chris Coduto/Icon SMI)

A revamped Coyotes prospect pool suddenly boasts a plethora of two-way forwards who can generate offense off the forecheck. Until this offseason, the Arizona Coyotes prospect pool has been overstocked by promising young defensemen threatening to die on the vine. However, since the 2013-14 trade deadline, general manager Don Maloney has methodically balanced the prospect pool.

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Photo: Yan-Pavel Laplante, the Coyotes’ 62nd overall pick in 2013, split the 2013-14 season between the Charlottetown Islanders and Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL before making his pro debut with AHL Portland (courtesy of Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

In August of 2013, the Phoenix Coyotes were purchased by IceArizona. Operating under an autonomous ownership group for the first time since 2009, rumors and speculation of the club’s demise or relocation were finally put to rest.